Posts by Ucantnome

36

Crossing the Elders

by Cold Steel in

few things draw my interest as much as people on this board who talk about the elders, the insidious little toadies who lurk around kingdom halls, the proverbial big fish in little ponds.

it amazes me the terror and the veneration they inspire, as well as the occasional ridicule.

it makes me wonder how they're selected and whether most of them come into the position with a sense of power, entitlement, authority and control, or whether many of them are pretty nice people and that i'm just hearing about the bad apples?

Ucantnome

From what I gather, they can counsel you regarding your personal life, scripture and its application, but that it would be improper to treat them as equals in the congregation. In other words, they can give you counsel on how to dress, groom yourself, the type of after shave to use, what to read, think and so forth, even how to interpret scripture and the articles in the WATCHTOWER, but it would not be proper to give them counsel in the same areas, right?

That is how my father felt, he was an elder.

I found them all the same, I would not say there were good ones and bad ones. In my experience, they supported each other as they were a body of elders, I understood.

82

How Far Up The Ladder Did You Go In JW Land?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i pretty much did it all.

vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.

i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.

Ucantnome

I never had any desire to have any privileges in the congregation.

I pioneered when I left school because I thought it was the right thing to do. When I was living at home after baptism I have said prayers at the meetings and read the Watchtower and carried the microphone and opened the Service meeting once and led the field service arrangement as a pioneer. When I left home I attended meetings and was regular in field service and avoided any other privileges. I left 10 years later.

51

Did you ever have a discussion with an apostate that helped your journey out.

by jwfacts in

there seems to be a number of different ways that apostates try to get jehovah's witnesses realise they do not have the truth, ranging from subtle comments to aggressive attacks.

do you have any that looking back helped you finally leave.

some of the methods include:.

Ucantnome

No.

37

Which Watchtower publications did you keep?

by Schnufti in

i'm currently cleaning up our bookcase and need to decide what goes into the trash.

i'll keep the watchtower books that are not available online anymore (e.g.

the brown "reasoning" book).

Ucantnome

I kept all of them and recently acquired a new old publication I have quite a lot of books.

9

DEMONISM👿

by minimus in

jw
friends

when i was a kid and even in my adult life i believed in demons.

the demons were always around.

we had to be careful that we didn't do anything to upset jehovah or else the demons would make their way to us.

Ucantnome

We had ghosts

62

Would You EVER Go Back To Being A Jehovah's Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i could never understand why some people who know the truth about the "truth" ever go back.

once you understand all the hypocrisy and negatives, i would think it's almost impossible to go back!.

Ucantnome

I can't see how I would at the present time. However, when I was a witness I couldn't see how I could ever not be a witness but here I am and so maybe.

25

Do you feel that you are really YOU?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i am interested in finding out how you view yourself.

are really you when it comes to every day interactions....ie when at work, with family or friends, or if attending meetings?.

if still attending, do you feel you are not the real you at meetings?

Ucantnome

One hot summer's day when I was eleven my father sent us, my mother older brother and myself out into the garden to do a task. He stood watching on the porch. When the useless task was done to his satisfaction he called us in and asked a question related to the task. The correct answer wasn't what he wanted, he wanted the incorrect answer. My mother gave him the incorrect answer he wanted to hear and that was fine. My brother did likewise. I felt a need to lite the fuse by giving the correct answer which he didn't want to hear and like a bomb he exploded and I went flying out of the door on the end of his boot. Sometimes it may be wise to give the answer someone wants to hear but I have had difficulty with that at times. I like to be honest. When I was at home growing up I often gave the answer my father wanted to hear. When I left home I was more me and after leaving the JW maybe.

25

Does the Average R&F JW understand what grace is in Christianity ?

by smiddy in

i`m showing my ignorance here , not being an active member of any church before joining jw`s as a 19 yr old ,whenever i was ever confronted with the question of "grace" i was always at a loss to give an effective answer from a jw point of view.. was it just me ?

or did anybody else have a similar experience ?.

(ps , i dont think i ever heard the expression " grace" in a religious sense in all my 33 years in the borg.studying the wt.).

Ucantnome

I think the early church had a tendency to interpret the christian message as more based on obedience than grace. Maybe the witnesses are closer to this.

68

What was it like being a JW in the 1960's and 1970's

by UnshackleTheChains in

this is obviously a question for the older generation.

i'm really curious what it was like to be a witness in the 60's and 70's?.

was the society as strict as it is today?.

Ucantnome

My parents started studying to become JW in the late 1950's and I was raised in it.

I believe at the time the belief was that the tribulation had started in 1914 and been cut short and Armageddon could start at anytime. In the late 1960's they became aware of the 1975 teaching. The 'Truth' book was released and I believe there was a change to a shorter study period before baptism. This made for a sense of urgency in our family for preaching and worship as the time was so short.

Did you feel proud to be a JW back then?

I didn't feel proud to be a JW i felt lucky, fortunate that my parents had responded to the message as I probably wouldn't have. They felt concern for people and made efforts to do more in the preaching and be a more theocratic family, making a more simpler life so they could do more in the 'truth'

Was the society as strict as it is today?

society or no society my parents would have been strict. I think faith makes one act in a certain way.

14

If you had to choose

by dothemath in

if you had to choose to belong to 1 religion, i was curious as to what any on the forum would pick.. i realize most here are likely atheist (i would have to say i'm agnostic), but if any would like to share their opinion, and maybe why?.

Ucantnome

catholic